I Can't Imagine Life Without You
by igirisexual
Summary: Their love isn't anything otherworldly, not anything magical or special. Their love is peaceful, and their love is holding hands and watching the tide. Their love is kisses and ice-cream moustaches. If anything, their love is true. And as most truths are, their love cannot be hidden. Human AU, RoChu. Rating is now M.
1. We Met At A Nightclub

It was no fairytale meeting. No bumping into one another on the street, or locking gazes from opposite sides of a coffee shop. They didn't know each other in high school. They didn't save one another's lives. It was simply that Wang Yao saw a cute man sitting by himself at the bar of a nightclub, and went over to spark a conversation.

"What're you drinking?"

It was a normal question, asked with a little smile as Yao sat himself down at the counter. The obnoxious club music pounded above them, and it was hard to even hear his own words. The man looked up, and Yao was instantly stunned. His eyes were a pretty colour, lavender? Or perhaps they were better described as mauve. Amethyst was too cliché, he thought.

"I'm not."

The answer was softly spoken, and Yao almost jumped at the accent. Russian, obviously. Even in two words, he had been able to tell that much. Now that Yao looked, he was sitting beside a man who simply exuded stereotype. Thick blond hair that framed his face and licked at his cheeks, large nose and bulky body. He was dressed in some kind of black coat, and the back of his hair was hidden underneath a beanie, but any attempt at being cool was extinguished by the puffy white scarf that was draped around his neck.

"Oh? Why not? You got a weak alcohol tolerance?"

Yao himself had consumed only one or two drinks, as it was his day off and he had decided to enjoy it. Thinking about it, he noticed that he seemed to be the complete opposite of this stranger, the yin to his yang. With long and coffee-brown hair that reached at the bottom of his shoulderblades, and a build slight enough to have him often confused with a teenage girl, Yao wondered if he was looking in some kind of reverse mirror; one that showed all he wasn't instead of all he was, all within a reflection. He also noted that this man was quite tall compared to him. Yao was essentially a beansprout beside a towering wall of a man at this point.

"No, I just don't want to."

This was curious. As far as Yao was concerned, the whole point of a nightclub was to go there, get absolutely wasted, have sex with a stranger, and then go home the next morning; that, and then take painkillers for the splitting hangover and headache that were sure to accompany. He shuffled in his stool a little, before resting his elbows on the counter.

"Really now? What brings you here, then?" Yao asked, looking up at the stranger and simply staring at him. It was unusual back in Yao's homeland, China, to stare at something, had it piqued one's interest. And this man was indeed grabbing Yao's attention.

"My friend thinks I need to meet people," the man sighed, folding his arms and glancing away. What, was he nervous? How amusing.

"Well, congratulations." mused Yao, holding out his hand for Ivan to shake. "You've met me. My name is Wang Yao. A pleasure." He scoffed softly, raising a brow. He was very much surprised by the next few events. Instead of simply shaking his hand like a normal person, Ivan took it in both of his hands – oh goodness, they were big hands, and so warm, and soft, and-.. Once he had done so, he simply held Yao's hand for a moment, staring away.

"My name is Ivan Braginsky." He mumbled, letting go and then returning his hands to the counter. Yao simply watched him, tilting his head. He had to admit, he had become a little embarrassed – flattered, even – when Ivan had taken his hand, but he shook it off.

"Do you come to these kinds of places often?" Yao asked, having to raise his voice as a louder song began to play. Fearing raising his voice, Ivan shook his head, and fumbled with his hands.

"I see," Yao said, turning to the barkeeper and ordering another drink or two. And those were down his gullet in an instant. He sighed contently as the alcohol refreshed him, and he got to his feet. "C'mon, Ivan, let's go talk someplace where we don't have to yell!" He yelled. Clearly nervous, Ivan stood, and let Yao lead him outside.

The rest of the evening was a blur to Yao. He vaguely remembered this stranger's arms, and his name, and when he blinked his eyes open-.. Well, he certainly wasn't in Kansas anymore, Toto. The room was completely unfamiliar, and he stared about, trying to remember what exactly had happened. Wherever he was, it was a room with plain white walls – he was laying in an uncomfortable and hard bed and staring about to make such observations – and it looked a little dirty in places. Dust coated shelves, spiderwebs grew on various protrusions from the walls or furniture; the room looked quite unlived in. There were windows, but ugly grey curtains cloaked them. It was a little depressing.

"You're awake?" A man's voice uttered softly, coming from the other side of the door. Yao groggily recognized it as the odd man from last night, Ivan. The door opened slowly, and Ivan poked his head in, smiling and toting a little tray. Upon it sat a pair of cups, and various other things – sugar, milk, and what Yao thought could possibly be crumpets. "You're probably hungover."

"Gee, thanks for telling me that!" wheezed Yao, grunting and flopping backward. Unfortunately for him, he had underestimated where he was laying, and ended up slamming his head against the backboard, and almost shrieking in pain. Ivan tilted his head.

"You're welcome. I have painkillers for you." Ivan said quietly, putting the tray down on the nightstand and popping a few paracetamol tablets into his hand to offer to Yao. He also had a little cup of water on the tray, so he handed that over as well.

Yao downed the pills and water, and let out a low groan. As much as he appreciated this man's kindness, he was more worried about where he was, how he could get home, and how late he was going to be for work. Then again, his work was for the most part flexible. It was generally just waiting around the hospital for the right situation.

"Why am I here?" Yao asked, just kind of staring as Ivan handed over a cup of coffee and the sweeteners. "Where am I, even?"

"Oho, you don't remember," Ivan laughed quietly. This irked Yao, really. Why was he laughing? It was frustrating.

"Of course I don't!" Yao puffed haughtily. "I was probably drunk!"

"We went outside the club, remember? And then you tried to dance, I think? But you fell over. So I took you to my home, and you fell asleep on the floor." Ivan hummed, giving a sweet smile. "I moved you to my guest room."

Yao was mortified. Yes, he would've been able to live with having had sex with a stranger and then waking up with no memory of it. But this.. This was just odd! Maybe Ivan was lying, and maybe they did get it on the previous evening! Yes, Yao thought, that was it. No-one was as good-natured as this man seemed to be. It had to be an act.

"Mmhm, I'm sure that's what happened," he huffed, grudgingly taking the coffee and dumping both sugar and cream into it. "Absolutely. Thank you, Ivan."

"You started singing, last night?" Ivan cooed softly, pulling a stool out of the corner of the room and sitting down beside Yao's bed. "You started singing something from _The Wizard Of Oz_."

_Shit_, thought Yao. _That sounds like me. Maybe he's telling the truth._ He frowned, and sipped at the sweetened coffee. "Thanks, I guess. I probably drank too much."

"That was clear," Ivan chuckled. "Do you remember your spiel about how you were a racecar driver?"

"W-what?" mumbled Yao, creasing his brows in concern. "I'm not a racecar driver."

Ivan shrugged. "Well, that's what you said last night."

Yao frowned and drank his coffee, before returning the empty mug to the tray, and getting out of bed. "I should probably think about getting to work, eh.." he mumbled, a little wobbly on his feet.

"You sure you don't want breakfast first?"

Yao groaned. He would _kill_ for breakfast right now.

"Why would you make coffee and breakfast for a stranger?" He asked, watching Ivan get up and walk a touch cheerily to the door. "I mean, I'm not complaining, but hey." His question was lost when Ivan opened the door. The living room was bright. Illuminated by an overhanging chandelier, the massive room dwarfed all the furniture inside. But really, Yao's focus was snagged upon the mural painted on the walls. It was brilliant to say the least; a dazzling blue sky and warm yellow sunflowers making no effort to be scarce below it. Yao also noticed some paint tins and equipment scattered about. Had Ivan painted this?

"I take it you're interested in the mural?" Ivan hummed, carrying the tray into the next room after that one, which Yao guessed was the kitchen. "But to answer your question, I never really have company, so it's nice to have some human contact for a change." Yao frowned, and lamely followed him about. This room was _huge_; how big was the rest of the house?

"Y-yes, the mural," he nodded. "It's very pretty-.. Wait, what about that friend of yours? The one who made you come to the nightclub in the first place?"

"An internet friend," stated Ivan, giving a sad smile. "He lives in France." He returned from the kitchen after idling there and supposedly putting breakfast on, and sat down upon the living room's couch. He pet it for Yao to come and sit down beside him. "I painted that mural myself."

"I see," sighed Yao, as an end to both conversations. He sat, but only because he pitied Ivan for being so lonesome.

Yao could only assume that the 'guest room' was so unkempt because this poor man never had visitors or guests to stay in it. And really, the friendship that was to come was to bloom out of pity. A little sad, isn't it?

"Your friend wants you to meet people, right?" Yao huffed, crossing his arms and leaning back on the couch. He decided he was going to be a good person. "Then we should talk about things, find similar interests, and maybe become friends." Ivan's eyes lit up like a little boy who'd just been offered a puppy.

"Yes!" he gasped, practically buzzing where he sat. "I would love to have two friends!"

So this Frenchman was really Ivan's only friend? Yao frowned. "Well, you know my name. I'm twenty-six. I like sunsets and long walks on the beach." He rolled his eyes when Ivan nodded, oblivious to his sarcasm. "No, not really. I like nice restaurants and cute animals."

"E-erm, what do I say now?" mumbled Ivan, seemingly bashful and confused. "And you're twenty-eight?!"

"You tell me your age and two things you like, like I did for you." Yao scoffed. "Yes. Why, is it a surprise?"

"I've just turned twenty-four," he huffed, embarrassed now. "I thought you were some rowdy teenager or something."

"A teenager!" Yao burst into laughter. "That's hilarious! I'm much too old to be a rowdy teenager, Ivan. But thank you for noticing my youthful good looks."

"E-eh, sorry!" the Russian squeaked, raising his hands in defense.

"Don't worry about it," Yao chuckled, sighing and petting Ivan's large shoulder.

"Anyway, erm.. I'm twenty-four, and I like warm things and sunflowers." He admitted softly.

"Okay.. Where do you work? Assuming you have a job, that is," mused Yao, crossing his arms again.

Ivan huffed and looked down at his knees. "I'm a technician at the Art Museum." He mumbled. "Although I'd much rather paint the things I put up for display."

"Fair enough," Yao shrugged. "I'm a paramedic-" he cut himself off, realising the time. "Shit, I'm gonna be late, aah-"

Ivan stood when Yao began to panic, alarmed. "I'm so sorry!"

"Hell, I'm gonna have to go," he grumbled, standing. "Ivan, you're an artist, give me some paper and something to write with!" Yao commanded, raising his voice a little.

"W-what! Okay!" cried Ivan, scurrying off into the next room. He returned near instantly, holding a sheet of printing paper and a purple biro.

Still fretting over his punctuality, Yao hurriedly scrawled his Skype username and phone number. He handed the paper back over to Ivan, and gave a smile. "Now, send me a contact request and don't forget to call me!" He hummed, before waving and leaving the room.

Ivan stood there, a little shell-shocked. What exactly had just happened? Yao returned a few seconds later, an awkward smile on his face, and his escape plan ruined. "Okay, so I don't know where the exit is?"

Ivan laughed a little, and led his new friend to the front door.

* * *

**hello new multi-chapter rochu fic**

**it'll probs go up to M later idk its a mystery**

**i kind of have writer's block right now so im sorry if i dont update that often**

**that and i have school so :/**

**anyway thanks for reading uwu ill update when i can.**


	2. Vanilla Moustache

_*** ivanbraginsky2 has shared contact details with pandapower. ***_

_pandapower: omg ivan ur name is so boring_

_ivanbraginsky2: What? Is there something wrong with it :(_

_pandapower: no its like its just ivan thats lame make ur skype name somethin cool_

_ivanbraginsky2: Oh, okay_

_pandapower: much better!11 :p_

_russiandeathlord: This one is a joke_

_pandapower: ur SO lame_

_russiandeathlord: I am not! Don't call me lame_

_pandapower: anyway where r u_

_russiandeathlord: I'm at work_

_pandapower: then why are u skypin me lol_

_russiandeathlord: Why are you skyping me back after I tell you I'm at work_

_pandapower: im at work 2 lmfao_

_russiandeathlord: You forgot breakfast_

_pandapower: omg i did fuck_

_russiandeathlord: I had to eat extra toast and eggs all by myself_

_pandapower: aww :(_

_pandapower: we should go get lunch 2gether to make up 4 it ;) _

_russiandeathlord: Really? That sounds good_

_pandapower: yea duh really ur kinda cute it can be a date_

_russiandeathlord: ?_

_pandapower: u ok_

_russiandeathlord: ?!#?2? 31# R!# ## #_

_pandapower: ivan_

_russiandeathlord: I'll see you later_

_pandapower: what hte heck_

_Russiandeathlord is offline_.

Yao frowned at his phone screen, utterly confused. What on earth had happened? One minute he'd been casually chatting to his new friend, and then suddenly he had left. It was really odd. He glanced about the part of the hospital he was waiting in – the garage and ambulance bay – and made sure no-one else was there. He was here on standby to be the first one up if there was an emergency called in. But there wasn't right now, so he was, as culture dictates, _texting tha bae ;)_. Only half a minute later did his phone buzz, and he glanced down to the Skype app.

_Russiandeathlord is online._

_pandapower: wb_

_russiandeathlord: I forgot to ask what time we're meeting_

_pandapower: for our date eh ;)_

_russiandeathlord: .. . .. ._

_pandapower: thats just a lot of spaces and some dots dude u ok_

_russiandeathlord: Perfectly fine. What time_

_pandapower: ive got break in like an hr_

_russiandeathlord: Where are we going_

_pandapower: idk _

_russiandeathlord: I'm confused_

_pandapower: where do u wanna go_

_russiandeathlord: Wherever love takes us, mon cher _

_pandapower: is that french_

Ivan was sweating bullets. Okay, maybe asking Francis for advice wasn't the best idea. I mean, when he typed things out for Ivan to copy and paste into his conversation with Yao, and they weren't very well synched with the rest of the conversation. Damn that romantic friend of his. Well, he did want to go on this date with Yao, but he was very embarrassed and could hardly type a cohesive conversation.

russiandeathlord: Yes

_pandapower: but ur russian_

_russiandeathlord: Yes_

_pandapower: well that was weird but ok_

_russiandeathlord: Let's go to the mall; There's food places there and we can decide_

_pandapower: ok thats good_

_russiandeathlord: Merci ;)_

_pandapower: um_

_russiandeathlord: That was a bad idea_

_pandapower: what was_

_russiandeathlord: Uh_

_pandapower: ivan pls_

_russiandeathlord: I'll tell you later. Okay_

_pandapower: k lol_

_pandapower: o shit the boss is here gtg_

_pandapower: see u soon ;) xo_

_russiandeathlord: Goodbye_

_Pandapower is offline._

Yao stowed his phone away.

"Yao, what were you doing?" his boss huffed, although Yao could tell that he wasn't really all that mad.

"Hey, Romulus! I totally wasn't on my phone!" Yao laughed, giving a little grin.

"Got yourself a lady friend?" Romulus winked, walking over and sitting down beside his friend.

"He's hardly a lady."

"Oh, so you've got a man friend!" He winked again.

"We met yesterday," huffed Yao. "He's so big!"

"You lucky man." If Romulus winked any more, perhaps his eye would cramp up and he would unable to do so ever again.

"N-no, not what I meant!" Yao crossed his arms. "We only talked. But we've got a date today, during my break."

"Is Yao gonna get down?" Romulus asked with a smug smile.

"Hey, I don't know," Yao puffed rather haughtily, staring away, embarrassed at the thought. "I gotta get to know him first."

"Then go on, run off for your date." He shrugged.

"I've still got an hour-"

"Don't want to be late now, do you?"

_Pandapower is online._

_pandapower: hey change of plans_

_pandapower: wanna meet up now_

_russiandeathlord: Sure. Why the sudden change_

_pandapower: mr boss man thinks love is the mst importnt thing in the world_

_russiandeathlord: Love? I'm not sure what to say_

_pandapower: hes a ttl dork tbh but ur cuter than him_

_russiandeathlord: …_

_pandapower: u ok there russian lord of death_

_russiandeathlord: Please don't call me that_

_pandapower: ur name is literally russiandeathlord what do u want me to say_

_russiandeathlord: Just Ivan_

_pandapower: ok just ivan_

_russiandeathlord: I didn't mean like that. I mean like just call me Ivan_

_pandapower: just ivan lets meet the mall rn k_

_russiandeathlord: Okay, Yao_

_pandapower: l8r nerd_

_Pandapower is offline._

Yao scurried off to the mall, thankful that Romulus was such a cheerful spirit. They'd maybe got it on a long time ago, and that had absolutely nothing to do with it maybe. He reached the food court, and looked about. Oh, how stupid of him! He'd forgotten to tell Ivan where to meet him! Duh, Yao!

_Pandapower is online._

_pandapower: im at the mall wher are u_

_russiandeathlord: The mall._

_pandapower: brilliant what part of the mall_

_russiandeathlord: I'm on my way to the food court_

_Pandapower is offline._

"Just Ivan!" Yao chirped, bouncing over from here he sat and smiling up at the startled man. He quickly put his phone in his pocket, and returned a little smile.

"Hello, Pandapower." He shrugged.

They made smalltalk as they went over to look at different food, Ivan clearly nervous compared to how calm and composed Yao seemed to be. Eventually, they both settled on food from some D-I-Y sandwich bar, and went to sit down.

"No jalapenos, really?" scoffed Yao, raising a brow. "What, you got a weak stomach?"

"I prefer sweet things," Ivan shrugged. "I don't like sweet chili, though."

"Weeeak," Yao chuckled, taking a bite of his sub. As soon as he did, he felt a burning sensation in his mouth, and spat out his mouthful rather ungracefully onto the paper wrapping it had come in.

"Weak?" he tilted his head. Yao was puffing and fanning his tongue as that would actually cool it down. "Having a little trouble there?"

"I'm dying," he wheezed, staring at his sub. "You," he muttered, poking the bread with an accusatory finger. "You're the reason I'm suffering."

"I told you not to put so much hot sauce on it," Ivan shrugged, taking a bite of his chicken sandwich and chuckling.

"You're laughing, so I'm stealing your soda," Yao grumbled, aggressively taking the can of Sprite that Ivan had ordered and opening it up. He chugged a mouthful or two, before seeming to stop dying as much, and then putting the can back down.

"Oh dear." Ivan cooed. "Would you like a bite of my sub instead, since you can't handle your own creation?"

"Hmmph," Yao mumbled, although he did take a bite when Ivan put his sandwich closer to Yao's face. "Jesus, you know how to make a sub," he huffed, staring at the godly creation in front of him.

"You can have it," shrugged Ivan. "I'll be taking yours." And he picked up the sandwich.

"I-Ivan, I don't think you'd be able to handle-"

He bit into it. And chewed. And swallowed. And he didn't even flinch.

"What are you!" cried Yao, staring at Ivan. "Some kind of spice demon?!"

"It's very mild," Ivan commented. "Is your pallet alright?"

"I put the hottest hot sauce and peppers and shit on it, how are you _not_ dying?" Yao gawked, frustrated.

"Weeeak," teased Ivan, smirking.

As Yao was put off by Ivan's incredible resilience, and his throat was still dying, he decided that they were to go and buy ice cream. Well, more specifically, Ivan was to buy _him_ ice cream, as Yao was mad at him for having an insane tongue. Ivan didn't argue; he found the angry little man amusing. That, and he was eager to make friends. Ivan ordered vanilla, and Yao picked caramel.

"So, you gonna tell me what the French was about?" Yao asked, taking his ice cream cone as the lady handed it over, and sitting down outside the parlour with Ivan in tow.

Ivan grew very embarrassed, huffing and bashfully licking at his own ice cream. "Do I have to tell you?"

"You said you'd tell me," argued Yao, sticking out his tongue.

He let out a heavy sigh, and shrugged. "I didn't, erm, I didn't know what to say to you, 'cos I got a bit embarrassed, so-"

"Oh my god," Yao chuckled. "That's so cute, you got embarrassed? Awgh, babe."

Ivan tensed, face growing as red as a strawberry. "L-let me tell the story!"

"Sorry, sorry."

"Anyway, I asked my friend, Francis, for help, and he's a real romantic kind of guy-"

"He sounds like my boss from that description."

"Yao, please."

"Sorry."

"And he told me to copy-paste some things into our chat?.. Y-yeah, that's it. There's the story." He huffed, and hid his face in his free hand.

Yao was a little flushed, made to endear by Ivan's adorable mannerisms. "Wow," he laughed softly. "Sorry, but the only French I know is _oui_ and _Eiffel Tower_."

"I'm so embarrassed," mumbled Ivan weakly. "I knew I shouldn't have."

"Don't worry about it, alright?" Yao chuckled, taking a little lick of his ice cream. "Here we are, date. It worked, I guess."

There was an awkward silence for a bit, with the two of them just eating their frozen treats and looking everywhere but at each other. It was interrupted when Yao's eyes drifted back to Ivan, and he couldn't help but chortle.

"Oh, goodness," Yao chuckled softly.

Ivan, snapping back to attention, frowned. "What, is something the matter?" he mumbled, feeling a bit self-conscious.

"Ivan, you've got a bit-" he stopped talking to laugh a little more. "God, you're cute. Uhm, you've got-"

"What!" squeaked Ivan, brow furrowing in concern.

"Ice cream," Yao chuckled, pointing to his own lip. "Here." Ivan was mortified, and hurriedly wiped his mouth with one of the serviettes.

"Is it gone?" He asked weakly, feeling dumb and childish.

"Nuh uh," he cooed, even though it had all been wiped away.

"Well, could you get it for me?" Ivan huffed softly, holding out the serviette to Yao.

Instead of taking the serviette and wiping Ivan's face as Ivan would've been expecting, Yao took his wrist, and pulled him into a kiss across the table.

Ivan's lips tasted of hot sauce, and Yao forced himself not to jolt back. If anything, Ivan seemed to freeze up entirely. Yao pulled back after a moment, a faint smile on his lips.

"Sorry," he laughed awkwardly, dropping Ivan's hand. "You just look very cute when you're determined."

"I-It's okay," whimpered Ivan, although he was trembling where he sat. "That was my first k-kiss, that's.. that's all." He stammered.

"I like you, kid," huffed Yao, licking his ice cream almost aggressively. And it wasn't just to get the taste of hot sauce off of his lips again, totally.

"I-" Ivan sniveled. "Yeah, me too. I mean! I like you! Not me too.. Although I don't mind me.. I mean.." He quickly found that Yao had a hand on his ice cream cone, and had pushed it up against his mouth.

"Look at you," Yao chuckled. "You've got a vanilla moustache. Now, let me kiss it off you!"

* * *

**kisses! thanks for ur reviews and whatnot heh oh boy**

**next chapter will start based on ivan yeah B) rock on**

**the weekend's over so idk when ill next update**


	3. They Never Even Saw Betsy

"He kisses really nice.." Ivan mumbled into his headset's microphone.

"How many times, come on," the voice on the other end of the Skype call cooed.

"Four," he answered softly, getting bashful.

"Is Ivan _blushiiiing_?" the man sang back.

"No! Francis, I'm not!" Ivan huffed, frowning at his monitor. "I'm not."

"By that tone of voice, I'd say you are," Francis pretty much audibly rolled his eyes. "If you got around to fixing your camera, I'd be able to see it."

"Maybe it's good that it's broken, then," quipped Ivan as he switched between tabs on his computer.

"Did you two lovebirds set up a second date?" teased Francis, who was very much amused and pleased at his friend finding a love interest.

"Er, no," Ivan admitted, googling 'dating advice for beginners'. "And I got in trouble for leaving the museum yesterday."

"Why not just show him around the museum for this date, then? You have a convenient job for dates," Francis scoffed softly. "Unlike him; what did you say he did? He's a nurse?"

"Paramedic."

"Ooh, fancy."

"But yeah, that sounds nice.." Ivan laughed softly, although his brows were knitting together. "I think that'd be good."

"Well!" scoffed Francis. "What are you still talking to me for? Go and set up that date. _Au revoir_,_ mon ami_." Francis chortled softly, and the call was ended. Ivan knew that Francis had things to do at this time of day anyway. Like get dressed and go to work. Ah, timezones, right? When Ivan was weary and recovering from a date and day of work, Francis was just readying himself to start something similar.

It took him an hour of clicking on and off Skype to develop the nerve to actually talk to Yao.

_Ivanbraginsky2 is online._

_pandapower: nooooooooooooo_

_ivanbraginsky2: What is it_

_pandapower: ur frickin name _

_ivanbraginsky2: I changed it back to talk to Francis_

_pandapower: lame_

_pandapower: brb_

_Pandapower is offline._

Ivan frowned and stared at his screen. Yao had been gone for fifteen minutes now. He distracted himself by making dumb Bitstrips comics on Facebook with he and Francis in them. He checked the time. Half an hour had passed. Nothing. It took an hour from that point right then for Yao to return.

_Pandapower is online._

_ivanbraginsky2: Yao? Where did you go_

_pandapower: shit dude i got called in 2 work_

_ivanbraginsky2: What happened_

_pandapower: car crash_

_ivanbraginsky2: Oh_

_pandapower: u get used to it i guess_

_ivanbraginsky2: That's sad_

_pandapower: ye it is_

_ivanbraginsky2: Uh, anyway, I want to ask if you want to go on another date sometime_

_pandapower: liked the last one? ;) lol_

_ivanbraginsky2: Yes_

_pandapower: me 2 heh id love 2 go on another date w/ u_

_ivanbraginsky2: I was thinking I could show you around the museum maybe_

_pandapower: :o_

_ivanbraginsky2: I got in trouble because I left the museum today without telling anyone_

_pandapower: wait omg u didnt tell any1 and u just left_

_ivanbraginsky2: They didn't need me at the time_

_pandapower: ur such a nerd ivan lmfao ok when u wanna have this date_

_ivanbraginsky2:Is tomorrow good for you? I'm good whenever because I work there. You just show up whenever you want, okay_

_pandapower: sounds good ;) cant wait_

_ivanbraginsky2: Heh_

_pandapower: u excited my russian death lord_

_ivanbraginsky2: Don't call me that_

_pandapower: ;) l8r nerd_

_Pandapower is offline._

Ivan was terrified. Another date! He was excited too, although his fear was overwhelming and kind of loomed over his enthusiasm, essentially dulling it. Aside from his usual insomnia, his apprehensiveness kept him awake. As morning did come, he got out of bed, and went to his wardrobe.

It was right then that he realised that he owned no 'cool' clothes, no pretty garments that would impress Yao. He practically attacked the wardrobe, digging about in its drawers to try and find something good. White jacket with black jeans? No, too contrasting, and the jacket had a sauce stain. Band shirt with ripped jeans. No! Too casual and unsuited for work! That, and it reminded him of his weird goth phase. Why did he even have those clothes, still?! Ivan's eyes drifted to a black coat with a fluffy white collar, and he stared at it.

That goddamn coat was probably the best looking thing he owned. But it was summer. It was going to be fucking hot to wear that. But the museum was air-conditioned.. But-.. But if he had to go outside… Well, Ivan warred with his thoughts. "Damnit!" he huffed to himself as he put on the band shirt and then hid it underneath the coat. He was already feeling uncomfortably warm. This was _sooooo_ stupid. Grumbling things softly, he tossed his scarf around his neck, and pulled on some grey jeans. Oh, god, he was going to melt. That was it. The end of Ivan Braginsky; melting down into the pavement because he tried to impress a pretty boy.

Why were more than half of the clothes he owned black or really dark shades of grey? And why was America such a hot country? He wouldn't even last half a second in Australia. Ivan groaned softly as he combed his fluffy mop of hair and stared at his reflection in the mirror. "You can do it," he mumbled to himself, although he didn't have very much confidence in those syllables. He had grown accustomed to talking to himself; it took away the silence of living alone in such a big place, did it not?

Fretting and sweating, – hey, that rhymes – Ivan scurried down the street. He arrived at work even earlier than normal today, and passed through the museum office. "Good morning," he said quietly to the curator, who fixed his glasses and huffed.

"You're early? What's this about?" Roderich hmmphed. Was he _mad_ that Ivan had arrived before he usually did? He was one to talk. Damned Austrian was late all the time.

"A friend of mine is coming to visit today," Ivan nodded. Was friend the right word? Perhaps he and Yao were better thought of as 'friends-who-kind-of-kissed-four-times-and-are-having-their-second-date-today-but-aren't-boyfriends'.

Roderich raised a brow; maybe he was curious in the matter of Ivan actually having friends. "Friend? They'd better not be a troublemaker." He muttered. "Just go in. We haven't got any new exhibits today, but you should make sure that nothing's out of place." And that was the usual command.

"He's not a troublemaker," Ivan laughed weakly. "He's sweet. See you round," he hummed, before turning and heading out of the office. Oh, fun. Anxious waiting until Yao arrived.

When Yao finally showed up, it was almost lunchtime, and Ivan was having quiet chatter with the other technician at the museum, Eduard. Well, I say quiet chatter, but I really mean Ivan saying things and laughing softly, and Eduard nodding weakly and trying not to be freaked out. They were currently idling in the little gardens outside the museum building, and Ivan lit up like the Fourth of July when he saw that familiar little man.

"Hello," he said softly as the brightly dressed Yao bounded towards him. His clothes were almost blinding, observed Ivan. Yao's torso was clad in a shocking lime green plaid tee, and his jeans were hot pink. Ivan wondered if he was allowed to wear such things to the hospital where he worked, or if he'd just changed for their date. Dabbling on thoughts of Yao's clothes made Ivan remember his own, and he suddenly felt all hot and warm again.

"Ivan!" Yao cooed, grinning up at the taller man. "Why isn't your Skype on!" he puffed, a question spoken more like a statement.

"I'm at work," Ivan argued. "My boss told me off. Anyway, Eduard, this is Yao," he said with a little smile, pointing to the enthusiastic Chinese man in front of him. Eduard just kind of adjusted his glasses and nodded weakly.

"I have.. work to do," he nodded, and hurriedly shuffled off.

"Aww, he always has work to do," Ivan chuckled softly, leading Yao back inside. And that totally wasn't because he was liquefying under the outside heat. "Poor little Eduard."

"Oh well," Yao shrugged. "You seem a lot less nervous today?" Ivan shrugged too. It was probably due to being somewhere he knew well, and somewhere that he felt safe. "Hey, d'you guys have dinosaurs here?"

"Have you never been to a museum?" Ivan asked, tilting his head. "Of course we have dinosaurs."

"Dinosaurs!" gasped Yao, acting much like a child would. "Take me to them, Mister Guide Sir!"

"Heheh, okay, Yao," Ivan cooed. He had to admit; being around the energetic little beansprout did ease his mind and anxieties.

"What's this one called?" Yao asked as he pulled Ivan along by the arm to look at a raptor skeleton.

"I just set them up, I don't know the names," Ivan shrugged.

"Lame." Yao rolled his eyes. "You haven't seen _Jurassic Park_? It's a velociraptor."

"Sorry," he chuckled softly. "Maybe you should be the museum guide."

They went about looking at the few dinosaurs that the museum sheltered, with Yao reading the descriptions out to Ivan and trying to act like an aforementioned museum guide. Once they'd all been thoroughly inspected, Yao huffed.

"Where to now?" He asked, one arm looped through Ivan's, other hand on his hip. It was now that Ivan noticed that they had _intertwined arms_, and he almost jumped. When had Yao done that!? He felt incredibly embarrassed. Perhaps he didn't notice simply because it felt so natural. Kind of like it was supposed to happen, or because he had faint memory of doing something similar before. Ivan inwardly scolded himself for thinking such cliché things.

"O-oh, our museum has an aquarium," Ivan said meekly, bowing his head.

"Really? I didn't know museums had aquariums."

"This museum does."

"Well, you're the guide, take me there!" Yao hummed, smiling up at his companion. And that dastardly smile. It melted Ivan's heart.

"I thought you were the guide," Ivan argued, but he led Yao to the aquarium section of the museum anyway.

The aquarium was quite large, and Ivan took great pride in the fact that he was one of the ones to help set it up when the idea of said exhibit was brought to light. It was an odd kind of structure, with a large tank filled with various aquatic creatures, and a glass tunnel that went smack-bang through it. There was even a little conveyor belt you could stand on if you didn't want to walk.

"Whoa," whispered Yao as they stepped onto the conveyor, and stared up at the giant tank. "Do you guys have sharks?"

"We have _a _shark. Her name is Betsy." Ivan shrugged. "We're trying to get another one.. I'll point her out if we see her."

"This is so pretty," Yao chirped, eagerly looking around and making faces at the clownfish.

They reached the end of the curvy tunnel, and Ivan noted that Yao looked a little disappointed. Ivan sighed.

"Let me guess, you want to go through the tunnel again?"

Yao lit up instantly. "Yeah!"

"And you call me cute," argued Ivan bravely, walking Yao back through the tunnel so that they could get on the conveyor again.

They did this.. let's see.. six times. So far. Ivan wondered if Yao was ever going to get bored of looking at the fishes and whatnot. Apparently not. The seventh trip, Ivan was a little tired of it, but he was keeping Yao happy, and happy Yao was really adorable. He liked Yao very much, he noted.

"I haven't seen Betsy yet," argued Yao as he dragged Ivan to the start of the conveyor belt for tunnel trip number seven. "Come on." I really wish I was exaggerating when I say 'dragged'. Ivan stood wearily on the belt, praying that that shark appeared sooner rather than later, so he could escape the aquarium.

As they stood on the conveyor and Yao stared at everything and anything, Ivan let out a soft sigh. As they reached the end once more, Yao turned to face him. "I haven't seen Betsy!" he puffed, crossing his arms and staring up at Ivan.

"She's probably sleeping or something," Ivan mumbled, glancing away with hidden irritation.

"What! I don't think sharks sleep!"

"Isn't it salmon that don't sleep?"

"I don't know, but I'm totally sure I read it in a _National Geographic_ once!"

Ivan frowned, and went to speak, but was cut off.

"-And I really want to see her 'cos the only shark I've ever seen is one that was on my plate and-"

Ivan cut Yao off this time. It was very brave of him, but Francis had forced some confidence into him with words and online guides. He held his lips against Yao's for a moment, melting into the soft and delicate taste. He pulled back and bashfully turned his head, before fiddling with his hands and looking away.

"Do we have to go through again?.." Ivan mumbled weakly.

"Nah," huffed Yao, just as flushed as the Russian was. Perhaps even more so.

After that, Ivan forced his hand to Yao's, and their fingers laced almost perfectly. As they walked through the museum, he was constantly glancing down to make sure that he wasn't squeezing the life out of Yao's petite fingers. The last stop on this little museum tour was to be the gift shop, as Ivan planned to buy Yao something cute.

They wandered in. As soon as they did, the man – a sturdy yet slim man with brown hair to the shoulder and green eyes – jumped and forced himself not to cower.

"Hello, Toris," Ivan said softly, forcing his flusteredness away so that he could lead Yao about the small gift shop without making a fool of himself.

"Hello, Ivan," the man returned quietly. "What're you here for?.. You don't usually come in here.."

"I'd like to buy my.." he trailed off, trying to figure out a word.

"Boyfriend," interjected Yao, smiling up at the dork to his side.

"B-boyfriend?!" Ivan gawked, feeling incredibly flushed, almost as if he had a cold. "Yao?!"

"Do continue."

"I'd like to buy.. my.. erm, boyfriend.." he flinched as he said the word, as he had heavy disbelief that they were even passing out from his lips. "Something from here.." And with that, he turned to stare at the slight man.

"Oh!" Toris said quickly, trying to hide the fact that he was trembling where he stood. "Please, just take something, I'll pay for it," he stammered.

"Thank you," Ivan hummed. Yao inwardly questioned the relationship between those two. Ivan, on the other hand, imagined how funny it would be when Roderich told him off for 'threatening Toris again', when really, he hadn't done anything but look at him. Yao picked out a stuffed toy, and they headed to the museum's exit.

"Oh, it's raining," mumbled Ivan as he stood behind the glass door. The gardens were drenched in rain, and the skies were dappled with grey clouds. Perhaps Ivan didn't feel so silly for dressing warm today.

"Do you reckon I could stay a little longer, until the rain goes away? I don't have an umbrella," asked Yao, hugging his stuffed fish plush and smiling like the sun. Funny to think so, as Yao certainly seemed to be a sunny light among a dreary existence.

"Of course," Ivan nodded, taking his… his boyfriend's hand once more. "I didn't want to say goodbye anyway."

* * *

**hehe ok dont expect updates everyday ive just been very inspired lately huheu**

**uwu pls review**


	4. My Heart Isn't Frozen

"Let's go and see _Frozen_!" Yao huffed into his phone.

"_W-what?_" Ivan seemed to sound a big shaky at the idea.

"I've really been meaning to see it but I've never got around to it, and the last screenings are really soon," he whined softly.

Yao was currently pacing about the hospital's ambulance bay, as he had a tendency to be restless while on the phone. He had come home from their date a few days ago a very happy man, and was hoping to meet up with his boyfriend – oh, it felt very good to use that word – again soon.

"_Okay.. I have no idea what it's about, but alright_,"Ivan sighed.

"Right! Meet me at the theatre tomorrow, 'bout lunchtime?" Yao suggested, smiling. "It might be a little crowded, because it's one of the last screenings, but we'll be able to get in." He said wisely, smirking to himself.

Yao regretted not booking tickets online _so_ much. As he approached the cinema the next day, his jaw dropped at the crowds. Hopefully they were here to see some other movie. Hahah. No, apparently not, Yao thought as he looked around at diehard fans in some kind of cosplay. And where the heck was Ivan? He pushed his way through the crowds, hurrying up to the front counter to buy tickets. When he purchased them, he didn't even look at them, simply took them, handed over the money, and scampered away.

Clutching the two tickets closely to his chest, he surfed the crowds again. Apparently, he had gone in and snagged the last two seats. The _last two seats_. In the whole cinema! Yao huffed frustratedly at the idea. At last, that doe-eyed blond man caught his eye, and he hurried over.

"Hello.." Ivan said weakly. He seemed to be very nervous, to say the least.

"Hey. Everything okay?" Yao asked, raising a brow.

"I just don't do too well with crowds, y'know," he mumbled, fiddling with the folds of his scarf and staring around. Yao instantly felt bad for getting them seats in a packed cinema. At least they'd have each other in there. Right? Right.

"I got us the last tickets they had," Yao stated with a meek smile.

When it grew closer to the time for the actual movie to begin, the cinema was opened, and people were allowed to go in. Ivan and Yao were trapped towards the end of the queue, but finally, they reached the person clipping tickets.

"Back row, seat seventeen," he read, handing a ticket to Ivan. "Row F, seat four." Yao took his ticket a little shakily, and took Ivan into the cinema. Yes, he did notice the look of distress on Ivan's face. He only didn't respond because he was wearing quite a similar expression.

"Ahah, crap," whimpered Yao as they stared down at the absolutely _cram-packed_ cinema. Looks like they couldn't just grab a pair of seats together. "Don't worry, Ivan, I'll get us sitting together.." he mumbled, walking Ivan up and down the corridor between seats to try and spot two empty seats situated one beside the other. There were _none_. "I'll find something out.. Go and find your seat, I'll be on Skype."

"But we're not supposed to use phones-"

"Be sneaky."

Yao's seat, in Row F, was a pretty awful one. To his left was some snotty twelve year old, and to his right, a mother with a baby. Why the hell did women bring their babies into the cinema? It's not like the fucking baby can watch or understand it. Yao groaned. Luckily the person in front of him was a child, so he wouldn't have to crane his neck to see anything.

Ivan was a little luckier, in a way. As he nervously shuffled past people in the row, he tensed when he noted that his seat was currently taken by someone else's food and bag. "Excuse me.." he mumbled shyly, standing in front of the seat and staring down at the lady. She jumped in fright and quickly moved her things. Ivan smiled and sat down. He, for one, was very nervous about trying to text Yao while in the cinema. He decided to take off his jacket for the sake of putting it on his lap and putting his phone underneath it. Yao had a similar idea.

_Ivanbraginsky2 is online._

_ivanbraginsky2: Yao! I'm scared, what do I do_

_pandapower: jfc im so sorry ivan i thought the seats would be 2gethr_

_ivanbraginsky2: I'm really scared_

_pandapower: ill do my best 2 get a free seat 4 u_

_ivanbraginsky2: Please hurry I'm scared_

Ivan was fiddling with his hands and trying to calm himself. After such isolation for many years, he had developed some kind of social anxiety around crowds. Absolutely understandable, too. Having shared only his own physical company was something that really cut him off from everyone. Well, there were the folks at the museum, but he had known them for years, and he didn't tense up or freeze around them. The only reason he hadn't felt ill when Yao started to talk to him was that he seemed so nice and kind, a natural soother.

_pandapower: why r u scared :(_

_ivanbraginsky2: There are lot s of p e olpe_

_pandapower: r u ok ivan? :(((_

_ivanbragsinky2: Ehhh_

Yao frowned. He needed to get a seat free somehow. And a brilliant idea came to mind. Perhaps it was a little cruel and a little dirty, but it would work. Amongst the dark of the cinema, he stared at the baby of the woman beside him. She was absorbed in the film, and Yao was making faces at her child when she wasn't looking. And sure enough, the baby began to cry. As people around turned to glare at her, the woman quickly shushed her baby and shuffled out of the cinema with it. Boom. Free seat.

_pandapower: k bb free seat beside me come quick_

_ivanbraginsky2: Th anks yAo_

And, just as planned, Ivan shuffled across the rows and down the side of the cinema, sitting down in the empty seat beside Yao. Yao's hand was quick to find his own, and they stared up at the movie without another word. Okay, so maybe that lady had come back, and maybe Yao had told her to fuck off for bringing a baby to a cinema, but other than that, they were silent. By the end of the film, Yao was in tears, and Ivan was gently – well, he hoped it was gently – squeezing Yao's hand.

Yao led Ivan out of the theatre, and took him out, away from the crowds.

"I'm sorry," he puffed softly, taking Ivan down to the food court. "Dumb last screenings," he muttered.

"It's okay.." sighed Ivan, scratching his arm and looking everywhere but at Yao. "It's better now, though, so thank you," he nodded.

"Wanna go to the pet store and look at the puppies?"

"It's only been a week, yet you know me so well."

They went to the shopping centre's pet store and wandered in. Ivan was instantly drawn to the little glass enclosure with both kittens and puppies in it, and he crouched down to smile at them all. When a puppy came up to the glass, he put his hand to the glass; it was like their hand and paw were touching, excepting the wall of glass between then. "This one is very cute," Ivan observed softly, smiling and reluctantly moving his hand.

Yao turned from where he had been admiring a litter of kittens, and moved to stand beside Ivan. "Why don't you get him, then?" asked Yao, smiling sunnily.

"I'm not very good with animals," Ivan admitted softly. "I'm afraid I'd mistreat him."

"Maybe someday we'll get a dog together," he chuckled, rubbing Ivan's back to comfort him. "And I can help you look after it."

"I'd like that."

After leaving the pet shop, they decided to wander about the shopping centre and talk about everything and nothing. And slowly, the conversation drifted to holidays.

"-And I've never been to the beach-"

"You've never been to the beach?!" Yao gawked, shocked. "Ivan, oh my god!"

"I've seen pictures and stuff," Ivan argued softly. "I don't need to have physically visited one."

"That's where you're wrong!"

Ivan frowned and buried his free hand (Yao had stolen the other) in his pocket. "Yao, really, it's fine."

"Actually, my friend Alfred said he was gonna invite me and some other guys on a big camping trip to the coast," Yao hummed, nodding proudly. "And he's got a big car, so I bet he could fit you into the plans."

"I-I'm sure that's not necessary!" Ivan whimpered.

Even though Ivan had said that, they found themselves standing outside Alfred's house at the end of the next week, camping bags packed.

* * *

**guess who's goin on a roadtrip B)**


	5. Camping Is For Nerds

"I really don't think Alfred's car is going to be big enough," Ivan whimpered softly, staring at the hummer with nervous eyes. "I-I mean, how many people did you say are coming?"

"Including us.." Yao trailed off in thought. "Six. We have exactly enough seats in the car." He nodded.

"I don't even know these guys.." Ivan frowned.

"You'll make friends with them quick, don't worry." Yao assured, rubbing his back and ringing the doorbell again.

A white-haired man opened the door, grinning when he saw Yao. "Hey, man," he laughed, reaching forward and mucking up Yao's fringe.

"Hello, Alfred," Ivan mumbled weakly.

"What?" the man laughed obnoxiously, releasing Yao from his iron grip and turning to face Ivan. "Nah, I'm Gilbert. You want the guy fucking his boyfriend in the shower upstairs."

Ivan flushed incredibly, hiding behind Yao. "Too much information!" he squeaked.

"Hey, Alfred!" hollered Gilbert as he turned to face the stairwell, using his hand to help project his voice upstairs. "Get your dick out of Arthur's ass, you've got visitors!" Ivan buried his face in Yao's hair out of embarrassment. There was about ten minutes of the three at the door making idle conversation before a flushed blond pair trudged down the stairs.

The elder of the two was dressed in black and red clothes, giving him the impression of being a punk. The younger was wearing clothes as bright as Yao's, but wore a sunny grin instead of a scowl like his companion's.

"I'll have you know I was topping," grunted Arthur, giving Gilbert a poisonous glare.

"He sure was," cooed Alfred, draping himself rather dopily around the Brit. "Hee~."

"Guys, visitors," Gilbert scoffed, pointing over to the awkwardly standing Yao and Ivan.

Alfred, apparently lovestruck and unable to walk on his own, was dragged over to the doorway by Arthur.

"Hey, Alfred, Arthur," hummed Yao quietly. "I see you two were having fun," he rolled his eyes. "Anyway, this is Ivan," he introduced, pointing up to the flustered Russian practically crying into his hair.

"Yo, Ivan," greeted Alfred, sticking out a hand for Ivan to shake. He didn't even see it, as he was making weak embarrassed noises and apparently trying to make a nest in Yao's hair. Slowly, Ivan lifted his head, and squeaked flusteredly as he noted that everyone's eyes were on him.

"H-hello!" he stammered, weakly shaking Alfred's hand.

"Oh my god," cried Alfred. "You're Russian, aren't you?!" Ivan hesitantly nodded his head. "_Dude_! Are you a communist?"

"Alfred, that's racist," chided Arthur, smacking his boyfriend's shoulder before stepping in front of him. "My name's Arthur." He nodded, glaring at the falsely crying Alfred. "I'm not as stupid as him."

"I'm obviously Gilbert, The Awesome," Gilbert hummed, hands on hips as he stared up at Ivan.

Ivan nodded and gently shook their hands, before glancing down awkwardly to Yao.

"Ahh, we should be ready to go soon!" Alfred chirped. "Like now, actually. You nerds got your stuff?" he chuckled. Yao nodded and grinned.

"Yup! Who's driving?"

Arthur butted in. "I will be."

"But dude, what about the whole British wrong side of the road shit-"

"I'll drive," grunted Arthur. "I don't trust you behind the wheel, Alfred. Nor do I trust Gilbert, nor do I trust Yao."

"That's racist," argued Yao. "Not all Chinese are bad drivers."

"No, but you are."

"Damn."

"Ah, excuse me?" murmured Ivan, raising his hand a little like he was in a classroom. "Yao said there are six people going?.."

"Oh, right," laughed Alfred. "Mattie!"

"I'm right here," a quieter voice – albeit almost the same as Alfred's except softer and kinder – chimed, and Ivan's attention was turned to a slight young man with soft blond curls and glasses.

"Crap, I thought I was seeing double," cried Gilbert, pointing confusedly between Alfred and his brother.

"Thanks, Gilbert," Matthew mumbled. "We were just hanging out like five minutes ago."

"Let's go!" shouted Alfred, bursting out the door and dragging Arthur to the car with him. Ivan just kind of watched as he shoved Arthur to the car door, ran back inside, and then threw both he and Arthur's bags at the car. I mean _at_. There was a thump as they struck the back metal, and Alfred let out a weak cry as he noted the dent. "I'm sorry, baby," he cried loudly, running over and dramatically slumping onto his hummer.

Matthew muttered various curses and carried his bags more sensibly to the car's boot, tossing them in beside Gilbert's, which had been put there earlier. Yao and Ivan followed suit. Those two were also the last into the car, meaning they had to claim whatever seats remained.

In the driver's seat was Arthur, with Matthew as his passenger. Alfred and Gilbert were in the back seat, and the boot seat was empty. Deciding that he didn't want Ivan to feel alone back there, Yao took the boot seat, and Ivan shuffled in between Alfred and Gilbert. Boy, this was going to be one hell of a road trip.

Within the first hour, Ivan was feeling very uncomfortable. Alfred had, on several occasions, spontaneously burst into song, and the whole car was filled up with cacophonous laughter or others joining in his singing. Yao often reached over from the boot seat and played with Ivan's hair, so it was alright. He wished he was sitting beside Yao instead of these unlikable hooligans, though. Hour two, they stopped in at McDonalds for lunch, and everyone ate a lot except for Ivan, who wasn't very hungry. By hour three, Matthew was listening to music on his iPod, Gilbert was playing Flappy Bird, and Arthur was crying and singing along to _Carry On My Wayward Son_ on the radio. Alfred was being the guitar in the shocking rendition of _Kansas_'s song. Yao was asleep, and Ivan was silently distressed.

By the end of the fourth hour, they had arrived at the coast. Arthur exhaustedly stopped the car at their destination, and practically fell out of the driver's seat. "Here we are," he groaned, stretching his arms.

"Yay!" chirped Alfred, kicking his car door open and accidentally slamming it into Arthur. Aforementioned Brit fell to the ground, letting out a grunt and just laying there, glad that the beach's camping ground car park had been of grass.

"Fucking thanks, Alfred."

Matthew got out in a more sensible manner, and opened the door for his friend, Gilbert. He got out, and Ivan followed. Yao was still dozing, and everyone except Arthur schemed as to how to wake him up. As they chattered, Ivan opened the boot, and leant in to kiss Yao's cheek. He blinked his eyes open a few moments after the contact, and yawned loudly. "Oh, hey," he murmured, wiping his eyes. "We there yet?"

"We're there," Ivan nodded. "They want to dump water on you or something."

"What? How rude," huffed Yao. "They should respect their elders."

"Aw, dude, you woke him up!" whined Alfred, coming around to the boot with a juice bottle filled with water. "You suck, Ivan."

"Sorry," Ivan laughed softly, finding this silly American to be quite amusing.

"I'll get you," Alfred whispered to Yao, pointing to his eyes, and then Yao's eyes, and then his eyes again. After that, he simply grabbed his tent from the boot and scampered back to Arthur.

"I'm not getting up," Arthur grunted. He was still laying on the ground, but had repositioned his face so that it wasn't smack-bang into the grass. "I don't want to move my legs." Before he could complain any more, Alfred scooped him up, and put him over his shoulder. "Oi!"

"Right, Mattie, Gil, help me set up our tent! Sleepyhead and Communist still have to wake up. And Artie's all grumpy and needs his naptime," Alfred teased, doing a playfully condescending voice for the last sentence.

With the two large tents they had brought to the camping ground, it took an odd hour and a half to set them up properly. One tent was for all of them to share, and the other was the 'lovemaking tent', considering that there were two couples among the six of them, and perhaps they'd want some privacy. The one flaw in that plan was that the lovemaking tent and the regular tent weren't that far away from one another, and tents weren't exactly soundproof.

"Done," gasped Gilbert, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"You didn't even do anything," muttered Arthur, who had been the one to _actually_ set up both tents.

"If you'd let me do it, they would've been up hours ago," Yao huffed, crossing his arms and slumping against Ivan.

"You'd probs just build a Chinatown instead of a tent, dude," Alfred rolled his eyes.

"That's racist."

"You would though."

"Damn."

"Who goes in what tent?" asked Ivan softly as he helped Yao take their things out of the car.

Yao raised a brow. "Oh, oh right. That tent," he pointed to the red one, "Is for us couples if we want some private time. We're all gonna sleep in the blue one unless we're in there." Ivan nodded, and took their things into the big blue tent.

"Private time?" he asked, curious.

"You know. _Private time_." Ivan just tilted his head. "Uh, _having fun_."

"Oh! Did you bring Cluedo?"

"Uh," mumbled Yao. "Sex. It's the sex tent."

Ivan gasped, cheeks growing flushed. "W-what!?" he cried. "Oh my god-"

"You're a virgin, aren't you?" mused Yao, raising a brow.

"Y-yeah, how'd you know-"

"It's not hard to tell, Ivan," Yao laughed softly, petting Ivan's shoulder. "Oh man, I really have to show you a good time." And with this, Ivan was silenced until the evening.

After setting up the tents and having their bedding strewn inside the blue tent, the boys – I would say men, but none of those idiots were mentally an adult – just lay about and talked about what they were gonna do during their little camping trip. Alfred voted for fishing and swimming, and Arthur added in that he was going to go shopping in town at some point, for various things. Gilbert loudly voted that they go and climb sand dunes later on in their camping trip.

As evening fell, Alfred went about to make a fire. There was a designated fire pit within the camping grounds, and he filled it with tinder and wood. It was lit before he knew it, and everyone pulled folding chairs out to sit around it in. Gilbert had packed his large esky full of beer cans, and passed one around to everybody. Ivan took his rather nervously.

"Are we allowed to drink beer here?" Ivan asked quietly, to which Yao nudged him and laughed softly.

"Don't worry about it," Yao laughed. "It's totally cool."

"Alright, dinner's up!" Alfred hollered, passing about the McDonalds bags according to order.

Like a pack of wolves to their prey, the hungry boys devoured their dinner. They were slower with their beers. Arthur, being a total lightweight, was drunk after only one can. Gilbert passed out another round. Matthew refused to drink then, but he did sneak off later (presumably to drink the beer that he'd saved). Yao was next to lose his senses, and he just ended up slumped against Ivan, laughing softly. Before Ivan even knew what was happening, he and Matthew were the only sober ones left. And it was kind of sad.

"I don't know what to do," admitted Ivan softly, running his fingers through the quietly mumbling Yao's hair. Ivan had drunk the beer he was offered, but it such weak alcohol was like water to a Russian.

"We should probably get them back into the tent," Matthew suggested quietly, grunting in discomfort as Gilbert threw himself at him. "Gilbert, off."

"Mattchee!" He cried, hitting the Canadian gently with an empty beer can. "Carry me."

Matthew sighed and stood. It was amazing how easily he could lift Gilbert, as he had quite a slim build, and Ivan wouldn't have guessed he was strong. Ivan gently scooped up Yao – who started shouting upon him doing so – and took him into the tent. He lay Yao down upon his sleeping bag, and returned to take in the next person. Were all drunk people this numb in the head?

Arthur, for some reason, had stripped down to boxers, and was latching on to an enthusiastic Alfred. "-And I swear, focking heckey players," Arthur slurred. "I'd shag 'em all-" he cried. Ivan hesitantly took Alfred's arm and consequently dragged the two idiots inside. Jesus. Ivan certainly hoped that he was not this sappy when drunk.

Once everyone was inside, Ivan and Matthew sat on their bedrolls, while Yao, Arthur, Alfred, and Gilbert lay sprawled about in their drunken stupor.

"Let's play truth or dare," gasped Alfred suddenly, sitting up with his eyes wide.

"Can we not!" complained Arthur, rolling over on top of his boyfriend and groaning.

Matthew sighed. "Why did I let Gilbert bring beer?" he asked himself.

"I can't live without beer," cried aforementioned Prussian, flopping over and laying his head in his friend's lap. "Beer's my blood."

"No wonder you get sick so much, eh."

"Truth or dare, new kid!" exclaimed Alfred, completely ignoring Arthur who was trying to kiss his chest and shut him up.

"I'm older than you," Ivan said quietly, but he doubted Alfred cares. "Erm, truth."

"Are you a communisht!" Alfred gasped, although he phrased it more as an exclamation than a question.

Ivan rolled his eyes. "No." He mumbled. "So, er, what do I do now?"

"You truth or dare someone," huffed Gilbert, rolling over and burying his face in Matthew's thigh. Matthew slapped the top of his head gently.

"Okay.. Truth or dare, Yao," Ivan nodded, picking Yao because A) he loved him, B) Yao was the only one he really knew.

"Yeah?" Yao yawned, crawling over to Ivan on hands and knees and cuddling lamely up against him. "Truth,"

"Are you drunk?"

"What!" gasped Yao. "No way! I'm nat dronk-" He slurred, and then dragged himself a little closer to Ivan's chest. "Truth or dare.. Arthur!"

"Geddout," argued Arthur, turning his head from where he had been making out with Alfred's chest rather egregiously – he had stripped the American of his upper clothing. "We're gon-.. Going-.. finish what started this morning," he stammered, growling as if he was a dog protecting a bone.

"I totally dare you to make out with Gilber," cried Yao, pointing to the startled albino.

"My namesh-.. Name's Gilber_t_." He corrected, although he started crawling forward towards the Brit.

"No!" cried Arthur, rolling over and swapping positions with Alfred, using him as a shield. "Lessgo," he whined, rolling repeatedly until they were at the end of the tent. Once there, he shakily got to his feet, unzipped the tent's door, and dragged Alfred out with him.

"Assholes," commented Yao.

The truth or dare kind of stopped dead there, as Arthur had left and dragged Alfred to the love tent without giving a truth or dare to make the game continue. What an asshole indeed. Their lovemaking could be heard from the main tent, and Gilbert and Yao were near to the side, ready to cheer mockingly when they heard someone cry out in orgasm from the other tent. Ivan and Matthew were huddled at the other side of the tent, incredibly embarrassed at their companions.

As there was a loud '_uhnn_' type moan from the next tent, Yao and Gilbert made a weird hooting noise and burst into cacophonous laughter. Perhaps ten minutes later, a very grumpy and drunk Arthur stormed back to the tent, fell inside, struggled back up to his feet, and then emptied a glass of cold water on both Gilbert and Yao's heads. "Bastards," he muttered, and stumbled back off to the love tent.

Now sopping wet, Yao dragged himself back to Ivan and slumped in his lap. "Dry me," he whined, rubbing himself lamely against Ivan's jacket. Matthew had curled up and fallen asleep a while ago, and Gilbert grumpily hid himself in his bedroll.

"It's bedtime for you," chided Ivan lightly, gently pushing the silly drunkard away from his neck, which he was trying to shift the scarf from to kiss. "C'mon, go into your sleeping bag." Yao didn't move from where he was strewn across Ivan's lap. Sighing, Ivan stroked Yao's hair and closed his own eyes. "Fine, you can sleep there. Goodnight, Yao.."

Yao, in return, let a hand fall between Ivan's thighs and maybe then crawl up to rest on his trousers. "God net, Oven."

* * *

**god net to u all**

**oh boy the camping trip has begun**


	6. James Blunt Was Right

"Ugh," groaned Yao, sitting up and unintentionally clasping onto whatever was in his hold. This sparked a squeak to be made, and Ivan to rouse sharply from his slumber. "Oh," Yao mumbled, yawning and just looking at his hand on Ivan's crotch. "My bad."

"I-it's fine," wheezed Ivan, fretting when Yao didn't even move his hand. "Your hand-"

"I'm too hungover for this," Yao grumbled, slowly moving his hand and changing how he was laying on Ivan, so that he was straddling the man's hips and gently resting his cheek against Ivan's chest.

"Maybe you shouldn't have accepted the beer," murmured Ivan softly.

"I don't remember anything and my head hurts," Yao whined in response, pecking along Ivan's jawline.

"Oh dear." Ivan went to kiss the top of Yao's head, but jumped as icy water was dumped on the two of them.

"Get a room, slut," whined Gilbert, gently punching Yao's shoulder before crawling back over to his bedroll.

"How am I a slut!" huffed Yao indignantly, shaking his head and sending water droplets flying everywhere. Kind of like a dog. "You're a slut!"

"How am I a slut?!" gawked Gilbert. "I haven't had sex with someone in years!"

"Doesn't your hand count?"

"TMI," murmured Ivan.

"Can you all _hecking _SHUT UP and ZIP YOUR _FUCKING_ LIPS!?" Matthew-.. Wait a minute, _Matthew_ said that? Ivan thought he was hearing things. He glanced over to the Canadian still in his sleeping bag, and just stared. Matthew was laying there, eyes closed, and snoring softly. Had he just sleep yelled? It was a mystery to everyone. Afraid of being sleep-shouted at again, everyone was quiet until Matthew rose.

"Dude, what the heck," said Gilbert, crawling over to the slowly waking Canadian. "You talked really loud."

"Ha ha," Matthew said sarcastically, rolling his eyes and gently shoving Gilbert away. "I'm never that loud."

"B-but," stammered Gilbert, suddenly confused again. "I could've sworn-"

"He does that," commented Alfred, who was peeking his head through the tent's flap. "It's totally cos he's quiet all the time. He's gotta let his voice out sometimes." He shrugged, and unzipped the flap a bit more. "Did someone bring painkillers? Arthur's crying."

"What, really?" gasped Gilbert. "I gotta go get a photo, oh my god," he snickered, ignoring the throbbing pain in his head and scurrying out of the tent, phone in hand.

Alfred sat down inside the tent, groaning and sighing. "Morning, losers," he yawned. "Wicked night last night, hey?"

"Wicked indeed," concurred Ivan.

"Oh my god, I remember this thing, and you-" he trailed off, turning to face his brother. "Arthur said hockey players!" he gasped. "You're the only fricking hockey player he knows!" Alfred gawked, indignant. Matthew sighed.

"Look, bro, I'd totally frick him. But we're bros. And he's your boyfriend." Matthew huffed, crossing his arms. "The bro code, man."

"Got my eye on you," warned Alfred. "Oh, right, painkillers!" he huffed, getting up to his feet. "Any of you have painkillers?"

"Uhm, I have some," said Ivan softly, raising his hand. "They're not exactly painkillers per se, more like things to cheer me up?.." he mumbled.

"Will it fix a hangover?"

"No..?"

"Then you're absolutely useless. What about you, Yao?"

"Nope."

"Gil?"

"_Nein_."

"God fucking damn it," huffed Alfred, standing back up again. Matthew raised his hand to say that yes, he'd brought painkillers, but Alfred didn't even pay notice to him. "Well, time to go disappoint him." He huffed, storming out of the tent. When he reached the red tent, he raised a brow at Gilbert outside. The albino was currently chatting up a really hot woman, who was laughing softly and holding a frying pan. How odd.

"Anyway, d'you guys want to come over to our campground for breakfast?" The woman asked, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "Since you boys don't have anything to eat?"

"We do have stuff to eat," argued Gilbert, shrugging. "Like, I brought tons of wurst, and Alfred bought lots of McDonalds."

"I mean real food," she huffed.

"McDonalds is real food," interrupted Alfred, jumping abruptly between the two. "Besides, why're you here, lady?"

"This is Elizaveta," huffed Gilbert. "She's fucking awesome."

"What, y'know her?"

"We were friends when we were kids," he stated with a smirk. "She's totally five times as awesome now."

"That must mean I'm awesomer than you now, because you haven't become the least bit more awesome." She smirked. "Anyway, I kind of left the fire unattended and took the pan with me," Elizaveta chuckled, glancing between the implement in her hand and the little path off to the next campground.

"Wait, so you're offering to share breakfast with us?" gasped Alfred. "That's awesome!"

"What did I tell you," scoffed Gilbert, crossing his arms. "Great to see you again, Lizzy."

"Aw, missed ya' too, Gil."

"Arthuuuuur," called Alfred into the red tent, and the Brit inside grunted and got out of the tent, albeit just to hit his boyfriend in the face.

"What the bloody fuck-" He straightened up at the sight of the woman. Isn't that a funny use of the word 'straightened'? Because it's the really gay man doing so in the presence of a lady? Sometimes I just can't contain myself.

"Erm, excuse my language," he murmured.

"What the hell was that," gasped Alfred, staring at him.

"I hit you because you're an arse." Arthur explained.

"No, like.. You're hungover.. and you're.. _polite_.." he whispered. Arthur simply flicked him between the eyes.

"Did I hear something about breakfast?" Arthur asked, rubbing his face.

"Oh, yes! I'm inviting you boys over for breakfast, since I'm kind of camping alone and some company would be lovely." Arthur secretly wondered if she wanted some kind of reverse harem. This lady was pretty hot, he thought, and he wouldn't mind complying if that was indeed the case. Even though he was super super gay.

Yao and Ivan were dragged out of the blue tent and over to the next campgrounds, where Gilbert, Arthur, and Alfred had already settled. There was a mutter of '_fine, I'll just hecking go by myself_' from Matthew as he trudged after them. They all ate and shared friendly banter with Elizaveta, with Gilbert loudly boasting about how cool she was and whatnot. Talk about subtle crush, Gil.

After eating, Yao quietly convinced Ivan to come back to their campground. "There, now we're away from the loud idiots," Yao sighed, holding Ivan's hand gently as they stood at the point between both tents. "Want to try what I was talking about earlier?"

"I-.." murmured Ivan, trailing off. "I don't know.." he flushed at the thought. "We're not going.. too fast?"

"We're not," argued Yao.

"I guess it's okay then.." Ivan huffed, and let Yao take him to the red tent.

Yao sat down, petting the floor in front of him for Ivan to join him at. As soon as he sat down, and before he could ask Yao if it was okay to kiss him, he and Yao's lips were locked. Yao gently pushed his lips to Ivan's, eyes closed gently as they fell upon one another, with Yao taking charge. He straddled Ivan's large hips, and leant against him gently. He was light; it wasn't like he was going to crush Ivan if he slumped against him, but he'd rather have some grace.

Ivan's hands subconsciously searched for Yao's hairtie, and Yao, noticing him, aided in getting it out. His hair, like strands of soft copper, fell onto his back and shoulders, and draped his face like curtains as he leant over Ivan. Ivan suddenly pulled away from their long and heated kiss to take a breath, and pant a little.

"You feeling alright?" asked Yao, pecking at Ivan's cheek.

"I don't usually have to hold my breath," explained Ivan softly. His cheeks were as red as roses by this point, and he was suddenly very bashful at the thought of what they might do. "A-and I'm sorry I'm not very good at kissing," he said in a whimper.

"You _are_ good at kissing," he assured softly, ruffling Ivan's hair and leaving a trail of pecks down his nose. "And it'll be just fine, trust me."

"Won't it hurt?" Ivan asked weakly.

"If it hurts, it's not being done correctly. And I'm practically a pro."

Slowly, and pushing away his fright, Ivan turned back towards Yao and chastely kissed him. After a bit of closed-mouth kissing, Yao bartered for Ivan's lips to part with his tongue, and gently edged it inside. As soon as he did so, Ivan turned his head again and made a soft squeak.

"D-did you just put your tongue in my mouth!" he gasped, incredibly embarrassed.

"It's called a French kiss," explained Yao softly, wiping the corners of his mouth free of any drool. "Surely you've heard of them?"

"Well yeah," he mumbled. "But it feels really weird.."

"Just tell me if you're not comfortable with something, 'kay?" Yao murmured, before simply putting his lips to Ivan's again.

Ivan soon felt Yao's hands touch at his scarf, and he flinched, batting Yao's hand away before he knew what he'd been doing.

"Shit, what now?" Yao asked a touch worriedly.

"Erm," Ivan stammered, a touch intimidated by Yao's tone. "Be careful with that, 'kay?.. I just.. I don't think you want to see what's under it, so,"

"What do you mean?" he frowned, gently cupping Ivan's cheek. "Something the matter?.."

Slowly, Ivan lifted his arms from his sides, and let his hands rest anxiously on the garment around his neck. At an even more sluggish pace, he unwrapped it.

"Oh," uttered Yao, as he saw what Ivan had been talking about. Mangled and ugly lacerations were on display now, as they had been previously hidden beneath the scarf's fabric. They seemed to be in slightly-jagged-but-otherwise-straight lines, and were a paler white than the soft pink of Ivan's skin.

"Being a teenager wasn't very fun," Ivan concluded softly.

"Do they upset you?" Yao asked, lifting his eyes from the scars to look into Ivan's eyes.

"Yes." He answered.

"I understand, I think," he stated quietly, and removed his shirt. Ivan squeaked in embarrassment and made himself look away. "Hey, hey, don't worry," he huffed, turning Ivan's head back with one hand, making him look. Moving off of Ivan for a moment, Yao sat and turned so that his back faced Ivan.

"Oh," whimpered Ivan. "W-what happened to you-" he asked, and then covered his mouth. "I mean, sorry, I shouldn't ask.."

"Teenage years weren't very kind to me, either," Yao explained with a sad smile. "Literal backstabbers, y'know." He sighed. "My little brother, he and I had a fight, and we just so happened to he in the kitchen at the time. He grabbed a knife, and before I knew it," Here, Yao made a noise like a knife being plunged into something, and did the corresponding action with his hand.

"I see," he frowned, sitting up and gently petting Yao's non-scarred shoulderblade. Yao, not really in the mood anymore, fell back against Ivan, just resting in his arms. "Let's.. let's stop," Ivan sighed, gently kissing at the top of Yao's head. "I don't want to do this right now."

"Want to try for it again later?" Yao asked, closing his eyes. Ivan hesitantly nodded and made a weak sound of agreement.

"Sorry that I ruined the mood."

Yao had opened his mouth to speak, but at the sound of people, froze. Only seconds later did an enamored couple practically fall through the flap of the tent, and continue their making out without even taking notice of Ivan and Yao. Ivan turned his head and felt faint when he noticed that both Gilbert and Elizaveta were void of shirts, although Elizaveta still had her bra, and Gilbert was already down to boxers. As Gilbert tried to fix those things, Yao and Ivan grabbed their things and got out of there.

"W-what was that," cried Ivan softly, clinging to Yao, rather frightened. "I thought the door was zipped!"

"It _was_," murmured Yao, huffing and putting his shirt back on. "Here, your scarf," he sighed, handing over the garment.

"Thank you," frowned Ivan, glancing at the egregious trail of clothes that led right into the red tent. He wrapped the scarf firmly around his neck again, and sighed.

"Want to just chill for today?" Yao asked with a soft smile.

"Love to."

They walked into the blue tent, and sat down, Yao in Ivan's lap, and Ivan's arms around his chest. "You're very warm and cute," commented Ivan softly, resting his chin on little Yao's head. They seemed to fit together like yin and yang, and the smaller man remembered his first thoughts on the bigger.

"Don't call me cute," Yao argued, huffing and cuddling Ivan's thick arms as best he could. "I'm manly, aiyah."

"Aiyah?" Ivan raised a brow.

"Don't say that."

Ivan shrugged, and just kissed the top of Yao's head.

"Get a room, eh," commented Matthew from the other side of the tent. He'd apparently been sitting there, eating yoghurt, for the last ten minutes, and had been rudely interrupted two of those minutes ago when Ivan and Yao returned.

"Oh, hey Matthew," scoffed Yao, who hadn't even noticed he was there.

"Um," he mumbled, finishing his yoghurt and putting the little tub down. "Since Gil's preoccupied, I suppose I'll just g-"

"Can you believe how big this tent is, though," interrupted Yao, no longer paying any attention to Matthew.

"It's amazing," Ivan hummed. "I've never even been in a tent before this little trip, so,"

"Really!" gawked Yao. "I'm gonna have to show you the world someday, Ivan."

"Excuse me!" huffed Matthew, indignant and quiet. "I'm going to go to the shops and try and find Alfred and Arthur," he puffed, standing up and storming out of the tent.

"What's his deal?" Yao scoffed.

After a little while of comfortable silence, Yao spoke again.

"What's your favourite birthday?"

Ivan's brows knitted together in confusion. "Favourite birthday?"

"Oh!" gasped Yao. "I meant colour, but I was thinking about asking when your birthday is, too," he chuckled.

"I like yellow," Ivan chuckled. "My birthday is the thirtieth of December."

"Oh, so you're a winter child?" Yao hummed. "And why do you like yellow? Tell me, dear boyfriend!"

"Makes me think of the sun," Ivan admitted quietly. "And bright yellow is a very happy colour. When's your birthday, Yao?"

"Tenth of October," he boasted, grinning. "And my favourite colour is red. You'd better remember, 'kay?"

"I didn't think old people liked having their birthdays remembered," Ivan quipped softly.

"Hey! I'm not old!"

"You can think that, Yao."

"Speaking of yellow, you have to see the beach!" gasped Yao.

"Why does yellow make you say that?" Ivan murmured.

He huffed. "Like sand. You wouldn't know, 'cos you've never seen the beach."

"Well, shouldn't we tell someone we're going?" Ivan asked softly, noting that everyone was currently gone or occupied.

"We'll wait until Gilbert and Elizaveta are done, I suppose," he huffed.

They waited and gave the lovebirds twenty minutes, before Yao got up and knocked – do you knock on a tent, even? – on the tent. "Hey, Ivan and I are going to the beach, catch you guys later." He huffed, before going back, taking Ivan's arm, and walking off with him.

It didn't take very long to reach the shore, ten minutes at best. They just had to walk down the road a bit and turn left.

"Whoa," whispered Ivan, taking gentle steps forward and staring at the scene in front of them. It was indeed quite beautiful, as the early afternoon sun shone down upon the beach of gold and cerulean. There were hardly any people, so it was definitely perfect here.

"Better than the photos, isn't it?" Yao smirked.

After sitting down and simply watching the tide for a while, Yao's stomach growled.

"Over breakfast and ready for lunch?" asked Ivan, smiling and tilting his head.

"It's almost sunset," argued Yao with a soft groan. "It's more like dinner at this point."

"Want to go and get dinner, then?" Ivan suggested meekly, getting up.

"Definitely."

Yao led Ivan into the town, holding his hand and squeezing it gently every now and then. Ivan followed in silence, simply smiling because he was in the company of a man he loved-.. Er, liked very much. It was a bit early for confessions like that, wasn't it? Yes, certainly was. Yao enthusiastically led him to a fish and chips store, as most beachside towns had, and hurried inside.

He bought a reasonably sized meal for each of them, and then dragged Ivan back to the beach. "It's sunset, and the waves are gonna look really pretty," he argued, even though Ivan wasn't protesting. And Yao was certainly right. The pinks and oranges of the afternoon shaded everything beautifully, and the couple hid away in a grassy cleft near the shore. They still had a beautiful view of the sunset and the waves, and Yao declared it perfect. As a marker, he dumped his bag, and plopped himself down on the ground.

"Here, eat up," Yao hummed, handing over the styrofoam container that held Ivan's meal.

"It'll probably be very salty," whined Ivan quietly, but opened his container and began to eat anyway.

"Don't be a baby, Ivan."

They ate, held hands, and chatted quietly, both clearly enjoying this little date. Or whatever it was. Probably more of an outing than a date. Yao put his empty fish and chips container to the side, and did the same with Ivan's once he was done.

"Ahh," he sighed contently, shuffling over to where Ivan was sitting, and resting his head on the Russian's shoulder. Now, they both watched the lapping waves. "That was lovely, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Ivan smiled, tilting his head to touch against Yao's. "It was."

Yao paused, and lifted his head to look up at his boyfriend. "Hey, Ivan?"

"Yes..?"

"What do you think of me?"

"W-what!" Ivan stammered, shocked as the question had came out of nowhere. "How am I supposed to answer that!?"

"I'm not too forward, am I? And I know I can be a bit pushy," Yao sighed, fiddling with his hair.

"I like you very much," assured Ivan quickly with flushed cheeks. "You're a very nice man.."

He soon found Yao's lips crashing against his own; instead of flinching and screwing his eyes shut in an instant, he tried his best to kiss back with confidence. It seemed that now, things were to be continued from earlier. Gently, Yao shifted them both so that he was laying atop Ivan, and Ivan decided to let him. He was incredibly anxious and frightened over this, but he would admit he was a little excited too.

Scarves and shirts were shed before too long, and Yao's lips trailed along Ivan's chest. "You're beautiful," Yao commented softly, running a hand along the flustered Ivan's abdomen. "Do you work out?"

"No," responded Ivan softly. "I used to, b-but, I-" he squeaked, interrupting himself, when Yao's mouth moved dangerously towards the waistband of his trousers. "Yao, but there's sand everywhere.."

"Is it alright if I get rid of these?" Yao asked, pausing in his affections to make sure that he had consent to do so. "And just ignore the sand, 'kay? Yo won't even notice it later." Ivan nodded weakly, although his head was turned to the side. Honestly, he was too embarrassed to even look at Yao's gorgeous body.

Yao hooked a finger under Ivan's trousers and slowly pulled them away. Expertly, he shed his own, and simply rested his body against Ivan's. "Are you sure this is alright for you?" he queried softly, moving his lips to peck at Ivan's cheek. Yeah, so they were probably going to have sex in a hidden little place at a deserted beach. Awesome.

"Yeah," Ivan bowed his head a touch, and bit his lip as he stole a glance at the mostly naked man on top of him. "I kind of feel like I want to stare, but I can't," he admitted in a meek whisper.

"Go ahead, stare," Yao offered, leaning up a bit so Ivan could see better. "Remember, I'm yours."

"Erm," said Ivan, flushing and forcing his eyes back toward Yao. He could only hold that for a second, though, and he quickly looked away. "Sorry."

"It's alright," assured Yao, one hand gently going down and resting at Ivan's crotch. "Now, I did nab a little bottle of lube from the tent," Yao smirked, reaching over to his bag and withdrawing a small container after a few moments. Ivan only grew more embarrassed at the word 'lube', and his blushing seemed to be spreading to all of his face. "So don't worry."

Ivan was completely unprepared when his underwear was removed. He let out a weak noise of embarrassment, as he now lay naked beneath Yao. He felt a little weak, honestly, but told himself to be strong. He was even less prepared when he felt slightly cold fingers start to touch at his limp appendage.

"Is this okay?" Yao asked quietly, fingers acting like they were slowly dancing along Ivan's flesh. Ivan didn't even respond this time, absolutely frozen. "Ivan?" he asked, fingers lifting when he noted that Ivan wasn't so limp anymore.

"Y-yeah!" Ivan whimpered softly, biting his lip and staring up at the sky. "I'm fine!"

"If you want me to stop, just say so," Yao nodded, before crawling backward a touch. Ivan had never experienced such a feeling as having a tongue drawn slowly up any part of him, and would never have imagined before today that someone would do so to such a private portion of himself. But he squeezed his eyes shut and enjoyed it anyway.

Ivan wasn't even sure how long the teasing licks and nips went on for, but felt himself throbbing anyway, and only really noticed when Yao stopped. As if mocking him, Yao lifted his head and crawled back forward, and-. Oh. Ivan had opened his eyes for half a second, and almost screamed when he saw. Yao. Was. Naked. On top of him. Yao was nude. On top of him. Yao had no clothes on. On top of him. When the hell had he even taken off his underwear? Ivan realised he'd probably been too distracted to take note.

He felt like he was malfunctioning. Ivan vaguely felt Yao sit on his stomach, and only let out a weak noise of dismay.

"Ivan?" Yao laughed softly at the contorted expression on Ivan's face, and loomed down to kiss either of his shut lids.

"A-ah!" gasped Ivan rather flusteredly, blinking his eyes open and then instantly closing them again. "Yao," he answered weakly.

"Did you like that?" Yao asked, taking his moment to rest his forehead against Ivan's. He also noted that Ivan was sweating at this point, although they hadn't even done anything major. He assumed it was a nervous sweat instead of an exhausted one.

"Yes," he whimpered, trying not to cry out of either fear, or the odd feeling in his lower regions.

"And do you want to go through with this?" Yao questioned, smiling and gently pecking Ivan's lips. "It's totally okay if you don't."

"I do," squeaked Ivan, puffing and trying to ignore his own body for being so disagreeable.

With that new consent given, Yao reached for the lube he had put aside before, and applied it expertly, to himself first. Ivan felt quite intimidated when Yao's hands forced his trembling legs apart, but he was going to go through with this, definitely. The whole lubrication deal felt quite odd to Ivan, and he was immeasurably nervous.

"Now, I have to do this," Yao said quietly, hand hovering in front of Ivan's entrance. "It may feel a little uncomfortable," he warned. Ivan frowned and waited for-

He gasped against his will as a digit entered him, feeling quite odd as he unintentionally clenched his muscles. "Hey, don't fret," comforted Yao, waiting a moment before gently adding a second finger. "Is this alright?"

"Very alright," retorted Ivan after a weak moment. Did Yao have to do this, exactly? He was feeling a touch dizzy from the earlier teasing, and there was an inner urge for everything to be over with already. Relief, he considered to call it.

Yao began to slowly scissor his two fingers, and Ivan shifted a little to better accommodate Yao's movements. "Yao," Ivan whined softly, trying to move closer on instinct. At this, he withdrew his fingers and shifted how he was hovering over Ivan to position himself correctly.

"Are you ready, Ivan? This is the last chance you're going to get to stop." Yao said softly, reaching to gently stroke Ivan's hair.

"Please," Ivan whimpered in response. Yao took this as initiative to get on with it.

He entered Ivan slowly, and the Russian could do nothing but arch his back at let out a guttural noise, a moan perhaps. As Yao began to skillfully move his hips, he found Ivan's arms tightly around his back, and his body trying to move in time with Yao's. He sped up but kept his movements graceful, and only when he felt Ivan's fingernails dig into his back was he aware of how close Ivan must've been. Teasing, he slowed down to the point of almost being stationary.

"Yao, please," Ivan whimpered, breathing in rasps and clinging to his lover as if he were a lifeline. "D-don't stop, please-"

"Just wait," Yao hummed, although his voice was quiet and he was showing a little fatigue from moving this much. "You're wonderful, Ivan," he whispered, leaning himself back and readying for the final move.

Almost urgently, hungrily, he bucked his hips forward, hitting Ivan's sweet spot and earning a piercing cry of pleasure from him. Ivan grunted at the white-hot feeling in his abdomen, and simply whimpered Yao's name. Moaning, his eyes rolled back, and he convulsed a few times, shivering in the pure pleasured feeling of his finish. Yao wasn't too far behind. It was an odd feeling to Ivan, to be filled like that, but it was not unwelcome.

Yao withdrew himself from Ivan, and just rested against his hot body, panting softly and laughing breathily.

"Wow," Ivan said weakly, seeing stars and gently holding onto Yao. "T-that was.. I-.."

"Don't try to explain it," interrupted Yao with a tiny smirk. "Just enjoy it." He cooed quietly.

After bathing well in the afterglow, Yao yawned and let out a little sigh afterward. "Do you think we should get back?" he asked, drawing circles on Ivan's muscled chest with one finger.

"I don't think I can walk," Ivan mumbled tiredly. "I don't want to, either.."

"Well, it's kinda cold, so let's just get our clothes back on and sleep," Yao sighed. "I bet they won't even miss us."

Yao got up and recollected their clothes, slipping into his own and Ivan following suit. The only thing was, Yao had taken Ivan's shirt instead of his own, and Yao's shirt wouldn't fit Ivan. "Erm, Yao?" Ivan mumbled softly, looking at him with half-lidded eyes.

"I know," nodded Yao, laying back down and instructing Ivan to do so. He did, and then Yao cuddled up against him, nuzzling his bare chest. "You've got me to keep you warm, what do you need a shirt for anyway?" he scoffed. "Also, your shirt is long enough that I don't need pants."

"Alright," conceded Ivan with a sigh, knowing that he could never win against Yao in a case about pants. "A-and Yao, you know what you asked me earlier..?" he mumbled, flushing as he buried his face against the top of Yao's head.

"What is it, Ivan?" Yao asked softly, pecking at Ivan's collarbone.

"What I think of you, that one," Ivan huffed, squeezing his eyes shut and knowing that he was going to have to force it out. He became distracted when Yao tangled their legs together, and simply went quiet.

"Huh?" Yao huffed, angling his head to look up at Ivan, who was only illuminated by the moonlight. "Something the matter?"

"I-.." he trailed off, and whimpered something beneath his breath.

"Ivan, please speak up," Yao frowned.

"I love you," Ivan stated weakly, afraid that if after saying it, Yao would just leave.

"Well duh," Yao puffed, curling his arms around Ivan's torso and holding him tightly. "Same to you. Obviously why I asked." He mumbled embarrassedly. "Now go to sleep, you big lug."

* * *

**iiiiiits a poron**

**anyway WOW they love one another. the title of this chapter 'james blunt was right' is a reference to a line yao says, 'you're beautiful', which is a james blunt song. aren't i just hilarious.**

**i havent written smut in a looong time but i think i did pretty good B)**


	7. Alfred's Sparkly Beach Bum

Yao awoke first, blinking his amber eyes open and smiling fondly at the dozing man in his arms. His first thoughts were that he was proud of Ivan for having that bravery, and he was also especially impressed with him, seeing as it was his first time. "Rise and shine, Ivan," he cooed lovingly, pressing chaste kisses to the man's cheeks.

Ivan's eyes opened a few moments later, but he quickly shut them again to play as if he was sleeping. "Oh no," he said wearily, voice croaky as it usually was when he woke up. "I'm asleep. Looks like I need my loving boyfriend to kiss me awake, oh no," he uttered softly.

"Ivan," whined Yao, leaning in and touching their noses together. "Stop playing silly games."

"Zee, zee, zee," whined Ivan, who then continued to feign snoring.

Yao sighed and leant in to kiss him, but at the last moment, brashly hit Ivan's cheek. He jolted, eyes opening in shock. "Hey!" Ivan cried, rubbing his cheek and furrowing his brows. "What was that for?"

"Don't try to trick me," Yao huffed defensively.

"What? I wasn't trying to deceive you or anything," he mumbled, knowing that he was going to have a mark. As the pain kicked in, Ivan felt his lip quiver and tears brim in his eyes.

"Too bad," Yao said stubbornly.

After both pouting a while, the two of them lazily got up and gathered their things. They headed now to town, to buy breakfast out, and then they would return to the campsite. "It was a good night last night," commented Yao, fingers laced lazily with Ivan's as they walked through the town. They felt eyes on them, but both dismissed the feeling.

"It was," Ivan agreed with a small smile. "It made me very happy."

"So, you love me then?" Yao chuckled quietly, causing great alarm from Ivan.

"Y-yes!" he stammered quickly.

Yao laughed softly to himself, and took Ivan into a convenience store to buy shitty sandwiches for breakfast. They picked out aforementioned shitty sandwiches, and headed up to the counter. Ivan naturally cowered behind Yao, not having the courage to talk to anyone he didn't know.

"_Hei_," greeted the cashier, flashing a cheery smile. "How can I help you two today?"

"Just these, thanks," yawned Yao, pushing over the sandwiches and a small carton of orange juice.

"Can do," the cashier hummed, taking the items and scanning them. Yao handed over the money, and the cashier sorted out change.

"Oh, before you go," the bubbly cashier hummed, lifting a hand in protest. "An insane man came in and asked if I'd seen two men of your descriptions."

"Insane man?" murmured Yao, glancing up to Ivan as they shared a thought. Of course.

"He was crying and wailing about his friends dying or being abducted," the cashier murmured, blond brows knitting together. "But, he was smacked in the face by someone and he quietened up." He cooed, smiling like an angel.

"Was he looking for Ivan and Yao?" Yao queried, groaning.

"Yes, actually. Well, he said 'communist' and Yao."

"That's us," he sighed. "Thanks."

"Have a good day now, _moi__moi_!"

Ivan and Yao ate as they walked, although Ivan was left carrying Yao's bag – Yao had curled his arms around one of Ivan's and was resting his head on Ivan's arm as they traveled. It didn't take too long to reach the campsite again, and once they did, they were both tackled to the ground.

"Guys!" wailed Alfred, hugging them both tightly against the ground. Ivan began to choke on the bit of sandwich he'd been eating, and gagged as Alfred's elbow dug into his stomach. "Dude!"

"Get off of him," huffed Yao, shoving Alfred and then petting Ivan's back. "You alright?"

Ivan's coughing came to its end, and he wiped his mouth sluggishly. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Where the heck were you eggs last night?" Alfred whined, dragging the pair into the tent and sitting down lamely. "I was totally worried that you got abducted or something and we were never gonna get you back. I ran around town and told everyone that you guys were missing, and to tell you I was worried if they found you!"

"He started crying," supplied Arthur, who had been sitting in the corner of the tent. "Mainly because he wanted all of his 'beach buddies' to join him on his adventure today."

"Yeah, _kesese_," scoffed Gilbert, who was currently leaning all over Arthur in an attempt to annoy him. "We're all gonna go smash some volleyball and shit today. It's decided."

"We were just at the beach," yawned Yao. "Do we _have_ to come?"

"Yes!" gasped Alfred, threatening to leap onto Yao again. "You _have_ to. Or else I'll like kill you."

"You will not," responded Ivan, putting an arm in front of Yao to protect him and staring at Alfred with cold violet eyes. Alfred squeaked and threw his hands up in surrender.

"'Kay, maybe not that!"

After some nagging and whining, Alfred finally got everyone to pack up their things and throw on their swimmers (or at least put them on underneath regular clothes) and then dragged them all to the beach. He had decided that, as they had six people (ergo three to each volleyball team), they needed a seventh to coach. Gilbert was more than happy when Alfred suggested inviting Elizaveta. She was to meet them on the beach later.

The previously empty beach was quite populated now, and as the six boys charged down to it, the sun beat heavily down on their backs. Arthur, who couldn't swim, had brought a novel and an umbrella to rest under, and set it up quite far away from the shore. Yao and Ivan held hands and stood close to one another, with Yao certainly noticing how timid Ivan seemed to be now. Gilbert was already in the waves, flopping about and being rather childish. No-one even cared where Matthew was. Do you care? I didn't think so. Who are we talking about again?

"Hey, Communist, I challenge you to a race!" shouted Alfred confidently. Ivan went to turn his head, but Yao squeezed his hand to alert him not to.

"Sorry, who are you talking to?" Yao quipped, turning and glaring at their American companion. "I don't know any communists here."

"Shit, I forgot his name," muttered Alfred to himself.

Ivan was admittedly a little hurt that Alfred couldn't even remember his name, but pouted and tried to put it out of his mind. "My name is Ivan," he murmured quietly.

"Right! Ivan! Let's go swimming 'cos I can totally beat your ass!" he exclaimed, throwing his fists up in the air excitedly. Alfred was already down to swim trunks, and Ivan wondered if he was trying to show off his flab.

"I don't really want to swim," Ivan admitted softly, fiddling with his scarf and jacket that he still wore. It had been hard enough to have the courage to show his body to Yao; he very much doubted that Alfred would be at all accepting. "Although I would love to prove that I am better than you," he murmured, frowning, "I'm afraid I'll have to turn you down this time."

"Aw, dude," huffed Alfred, putting on a kicked puppy act. He contorted his face in an way that gave the impression of a child watching its old house burn down. "I really thought this could be some serious like bonding time yo," he whined, slumping where he stood. Ivan, alarmed, raised his hands in defense.

"I-I'm sorry," he mumbled worriedly. "Please don't get upset-.."

"But I guess no-one wants to be my friend.." Alfred sighed, wiping tears that weren't actually there. "It's okay. I'm used to it."

"I suppose I could race with you.." Ivan sighed, reaching over to gently pet Alfred's shoulder. The American burst back into life, smiling very suddenly and laughing triumphantly.

"Sweet! Hey, Yao, wanna race too?"

Yao grit his teeth, having seen Ivan be fooled by Alfred's trick. "I will pass." He had seen the trick be pulled before, after all; it was that one time when Alfred sneakily coerced Yao's brother into paying for his groceries for a month. Actually, now that Yao thought about, he realised that Alfred probably owed _everyone_ money. "Ivan, are you sure that this'll be okay?" he queried, glaring once again at the American.

"You're in it now!" Alfred huffed to Ivan. "You can't pull out!" Ivan let out a weak wheeze and sighed.

He frowned. "I think I have to."

Slowly, Ivan removed his jacket and trousers, leaving himself in his scarf, shirt, and swim trunks. With Alfred's narrowed blue eyes upon him, it was hard for him to try and concentrate properly on the task at hand. The shirt went next, and Ivan hesitated greatly with the scarf. He just hoped Alfred wouldn't ask. He handed his scarf to Yao, trusting him to take care of it, and nervously waited. "There. Let's.. Let's go swim, right?"

"Oh, dude, are those UV tattoos?" Alfred gawked, staring up at Ivan's neck in amazement. Great. He asked. Ivan was about to murmur 'no', but Yao cut in first.

"Yes. They're amazing. Now go swim, kids," Yao huffed rather defensively, gently shoving the two of them towards the lapping waves. As they trundled forward along the sand, Ivan took a minute to turn and give Yao a look of 'thank you'.

Yao retreated up the beach to sit with Arthur, even though the two of them had a disagreeable relationship. They could get along sometimes, Yao supposed. "You're not really reading, are you?" asked Yao, raising a brow as he sat down beside the Brit.

"Am I that transparent?" scoffed Arthur, who closed his copy of _The Fault In Our Stars_ and put it down. He had totally not just been looking over the top of it and silently ogling Alfred.

"I can't scold you, though," Yao mused, resting his hands on his knees. "Alfred does have a nice body."

"He's a good catch," the Brit nodded proudly.

"You didn't let me finish," laughed Yao. "But my boyfriend has a nicer one.

"No way!" gawked Arthur, furrowing his brow in quarrel. "Alfred is the most gorgeous man I've ever seen! Your Ivan doesn't even compare!"

"Right." Yao just rolled his eyes. "But how big is he?" he smirked.

"Big!" Arthur huffed, starting to get infuriated.

"You only say that because your eyebrows are thicker than your dick."

"Bring it on, Ching Chang!"

And that, dear readers, is why, when Alfred and Ivan returned from their swim, they found Arthur buried neck-deep in the sand, and Yao sitting with his legs basket-style around Arthur's head.

"Yao?" asked Ivan, who was chuckling a little as Arthur thrashed his head about to try and free himself; it was of no use, of course. "What's going on here?"

"Artie!" cried Alfred, aggressively (making an attempt at) jump-kicking Yao in the face. Yao was quicker, grabbing his ankle and flipping him over.

"Yao!" Arthur grunted, watching out of the corner of his eye as Alfred was slammed down into the sand. "Can you not control yourself?!"

"Please stop this violence," Ivan said weakly, trying to help but having no idea how.

By now, Elizaveta had arrived, and approached the group with a charming smile. "Hello," she laughed, watching Yao as he hurriedly stood up so that he wouldn't be tempted to stab the bottoms of Alfred's feet or something. "You boys are quite rough and tumble, aren't you?" she chirped.

"Is that the pretty lady?" asked Alfred, who was rolling over and spitting out the sand that he had accidentally swallowed.

"Oh wow, Liz," cooed Gilbert, who was staggering up the beach to join the rest of the group. "You look super incredible." And that, she did. Elizaveta had tied her wavy brunette hair back, and was wearing a one-piece swimsuit that matched her perfectly. It was powder blue, with little ruffles at the hip and breast. And, well, it didn't leave much to the imagination. Gilbert wiped his mouth to make sure that he wasn't drooling.

"Aw, you think so?" she hummed, cheeks pinkened a bit. "Shall we all go swimming together before volleyball?"

The mutual agreement they came to was 'yes', and Alfred helped unbury his boyfriend. Everyone except Arthur scurried down to the shoreline and waded into the water. Everyone swam and splashed about for a while, before Alfred noticed something was wrong. "Hey, aren't we missing someone?" he asked, raising a brow.

"All you're missing is your swimming trunks!" a quiet voice huffed from the shoreline.

Matthew (oh, seems he was forgotten) stood with waves lapping at his ankles, and Alfred's board shorts held triumphantly in the air. "And I am _not_ giving them back until you acknowledge me and stop ignoring me, eh!" he cried, voice faltering. "All of you!"

"Dude, you're so totally lame!" Alfred gawked, splashing some water in Matthew's general direction. It fell short by about five metres. "A lack of shorts isn't gonna stop me from being cool!"

"Do you all want to see Alfred's junk?!" threatened Matthew, pointing to everyone except his brother. Arthur raised his hand.

"I wouldn't mind," he stated bluntly.

"It's horrifying," exclaimed Yao, a touch scared. "You don't have to do this Matthew, just calm down, and give back the shorts." Ivan was crying at this point.

"I don't even care," cried Alfred, swimming forward to the point of beach where his feet could touch the ground. Then, he started walking forward. The group behind him were presented with his ass, and as toned as it may have been, everyone except Arthur was kind of horrified. If you could understand Ivan, you would've heard him whimpering for his mother. People on the beach began to notice, and covered either their own or their child's eyes. Incredibly embarrassed and unbelieving at his brother's stupidity, Matthew threw the trunks at Alfred, essentially giving up in his quest to be noticed.

After that little incident, everyone clambered out of the water, and with enthusiasm from Elizaveta, went about setting up a court in the sand for volleyball. The teams were split, Ivan, Yao, and Gilbert on one side, and Matthew, Alfred, and Arthur on the other. Elizaveta was playing referee for now.

Everyone seemed to wear them selves out rather quickly, tired from one escapade or another of the day. Gathering up their things, the group trudged back to their camps. As Matthew went to make dinner for everyone (even though they didn't deserve it), he silently noted that Gilbert had strayed off with Elizaveta tonight.

* * *

**this is the last day of the camp :')**

**tomorrow, everyone will be going home uwuu**

**hang in there, matthew**


End file.
